Chapter 6: Epilogue

World PRIME

Eleanor Wilson slowly opened her eyes. Not that it really made any difference, as the eleven year old girl was completely blind regardless, but she often liked to keep her eyes open while she was awake. Perhaps it was an old habit from when she could still see, or maybe she just needed some sort of reminder that her eyes were still there, even if they no longer worked. Either way, she often had to do her best to keep her eyelids from closing, especially when she was tired. And despite having just awakened, the young girl was completely exhausted. She clumsily reached to the nightstand by her bed, taking the small alarm clock in her hands and gently running her fingers through its braille display. It was 3:45 AM, which explained why Ellie was feeling so tired - she’d only slept for about two hours. With a sigh, she placed the clock back on the stand and reached back, pulling her pillow up and placing it against the frame of her bed before lying against it. She knew she couldn’t sleep anymore, not after that dream, so she decided she might as well spend her time until school reading. The little girl gently reached over the nightstand, this time aiming for the thick book she remembered placing there a few hours ago. Instead, her little hand felt her phone.

Ellie froze for a second, wondering what to do. She would’ve liked talking to someone right about then, but it was the middle of the night. The girl took the phone, bringing it up to her lap and running her fingers across the tiny dots sticking out of its keys. This model was a prototype specifically designed for blind people, a parting gift from her last foster mother. Ellie never particularly liked her - while her last foster home was probably the second best out of the four she had been in, she had found her foster mother there to be vain, self-centered, racist and overall not very intelligent. Sure, she did a great job managing the home, and the other kids liked her, but the best thing she had ever done for Ellie, as far as she could remember, was giving her that phone. Apparently she got it through an ex-boyfriend who was in charge of pitching it to companies for mass production or something. Eleanor never really cared.

With a quiet sigh, the young girl began pressing the buttons, the dialing bleeps echoing throughout the silent room. Sure, it was the middle of the night, but she had to talk to someone, and at that moment, there was only one person she could think of who wouldn’t immediately shut her off - her ‘partner’, Tiberius Hawke. No, he wasn’t her boyfriend or anything like that (she wished), he was just kind of… Stuck with her. The Tachibana Academy had a buddy program they liked to call the “Partnership Initiative”, in which students (especially younger ones) with disabilities that prevent them from performing certain basic tasks for themselves would be assigned a partner who was either not disabled or was not hindered too much by their disability. Deaf kids were assigned hearing partners who were encouraged to learn sign language, students without arms were given someone to help them out with day to day tasks, and Ellie was stuck with Hawke for things like shopping, navigation or reading non-braille writing. Honestly, at first she was rather opposed to the idea. After all, she’d lost her sight when she was three years old, and by now she was quite used to living in the dark, so assigning her a babysitter seemed kind of insulting. Still, after having the guy for a few days, she quickly saw the benefit of not having to guess products at the supermarket by their shape and not bumping into stuff when she walked among a lot of people and couldn’t use her cane. And besides, he also had other uses, as the present situation proved.

“Ah, Ellie”, Hawke spoke as he finally picked up the phone. “I’m pretty sure it’s past your bedtime, kid”
"Look who's talking! You're going to that meet and greet in the morning too, Mr. Concerned Guardian! It doesn't sound like I woke you up, so I'm pretty sure you were staying up late looking at porn or something gross like that", Ellie quickly retorted.
"Very funny, Ellie. Can't sleep. Decided my movie collection was getting too dusty. What's up?"
"I'll pretend like I believe that”, Ellie chuckled quietly. “Anyway, um... You might laugh at me, but... I just... Have you ever felt like you were supposed to have something, or someone, but you never did? Like... If you're used to drinking coffee every morning, and you have faint memories of drinking coffee, and you clearly know what coffee tastes like, but then you realize that you've always been allergic and you've never actually drank any in your life? Does that... Make any sort of sense to you?"
"I'm not sure I understand, Ellie. Are you saying you just drank some coffee and you're allergic, and you need me? I can get over there right away, do you need an ambulance?"
The little girl sighed.
"Come on, Hawke, I'm a kid and even I know what metaphors are! It's just... Never mind. I don't really think anyone can understand. It's stupid"

Hawke laughed on the other end.
"C'mon, I'm just playing. What's up? What's inspired this crazy metaphor? I get what you mean. I get it too, sometimes. It's weird. Certain smells or people, right?"

"Yeah, exactly! It's like something reminds you of someone you know, only a moment later you realize you never really knew that person at all, but for some reason there's a memory still there in your head. It's… “, the little girl kept quiet for a few seconds. “I had a dream about my mother... I have those from time to time”
“Ellie…”
“I know what you're gonna say! Yeah, I've been in foster care since I was, like, six months old, and yeah, there's no way I could remember her. But I... I know it's her. I just do, okay? It's not just... orphan wishful thinking, I am sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that the woman from my dreams is my mother"
"Hey, I can't argue with you, if you say it's your mother, it's your mother”, her friend confirmed. “They say the parental bond is the strongest, right? I can only assume some of that would remain from your brief time with your mother. I mean, you did come out of her after all. Err, sorry. Inappropriate”
"Hawke, I'm not five. I know how babies work. Probably even better than you do... You porn maniac", she chuckled.
"I'm not a porn maniac... stop talking about porn! You're 11!", the boy retorted. “But yeah, to be honest, some people here feel familiar, I mean I know classes haven't started yet and I don't really know anyone except you, but a few faces stick out of the crowd here and there. I see them a lot, and I always notice them."

Ellie kept quiet for a few moments, trying to collect her thoughts.
“It's kinda hard to explain, but, like, most people are wired to recognize faces and body shapes. Since I don't have that privilege, I recognize what the person feels like instead - y'know, their scent, their voice, their presence, in some cases their own gravitational pull…”, she chuckled faintly. “The closer I am to someone, the better I 'feel' them, and the better I am at recognizing who they are the moment they get close. I have never felt anyone the way I feel the woman in my dreams, Hawke. My foster parents and siblings, my friends, you... Nobody even comes close to a woman who probably doesn’t exists. She doesn't even need to say anything and I can feel just how much she loves me and cares for me. Do you feel something similar to the people you recognize in the crowd?"”
"No, not exactly. I just recognize people. Faint recollections of their faces. I'm yet to realise that they're head-over-heels in love with me.... I mean, sure I sometimes go to shout to them as if they're an old friend before I realise, but nothing on the scale of what you're talking about Listen, Elle, I'm no expert in dreams but this dream is probably some long lost memory of your real mother when she was looking after you when you were born. Some primal connection."
"You think so? I guess that's possible... But Mrs. Monroe - err, my first foster mother - she never told me anything about my biological mom. No matter how many times I asked, she always told me that she just doesn't know. That I was given to her at six months without even a name. And, I mean... If my mother really did love me in real life as much as she does in my dreams, why would she give me up? Or if she passed away, why won't anyone tell me anything about her? It just doesn't make sense to me..."

"You might not ever know. It's the sad truth”, Hawke spoke bluntly. “I can't imagine what growing up in foster care was like, but unfortunately things sometimes work this way. Who knows, maybe your real mother might try and get in contact with you in the future, but I'm almost certain she didn't give you up. Perhaps CPS took you away from her, or she didn't have enough money... I'm sure the love you feel is real, and the circumstances you both lived in meant foster care was the best choice for you."
"I don't know... I mean, if she really was forced to give me up despite loving me, why hasn't she tried to contact me yet? It's been 11 years, after all... If she's still out there, do you think she still cares about me? Even if she loved me when I was born, perhaps she... Moved on. Got another child and just forgot about me. What if she never tries to contact me? I mean... I'm more or less a stranger at this point"
"There are all sorts of restrictions surrounding fostering, Elle. More often than not the parents aren't ALLOWED to contact their child. It's cruel. It might not be the case here, but the parents might try and get the child back only to be more abusive than before”
"Abusive...", Ellie repeated with a sigh.
“I'm certain you won't be forgotten”, he assured her. “As I said, it's a bond that can't be broken. I mean, hell, my parents ran away from their parents and basically told them to go fuck themselves. They didn't speak for two years. These days my parents live with my grandparents."
"They did what?!? Holy crap!" the young girl laughed out loud, equally amused by the story and by her friend’s profanity. She wasn’t exactly mature, after all. "You've never told me that story! What happened to make them run away? Is it as good as I think it is?"

"Love makes people do weird things, I guess." Hawke replied with a small chuckle, "They got sick of the high-life, I think. Ran away to Europe for two years and got married."
"Awww! That's literally the sweetest thing I've ever heard!" she gushed. "I mean, I guess the story becomes a bit anti-climactic when you realize that they went back home in the end, but still, it's the journey that counts and not the destination, right? Saaay... If you find yourself someone you really love, would you just leave everything behind and run away with them to get married?"
"It's possible, I mean... it would depend on the person. What about you?"
"Of course! Do you even need to ask? I mean, it's not like I've got any family or friends to keep me anchored... Not any that I haven't already left behind, anyway. All I need is a beautiful prince to sweep me off my feet and take to far-away lands! Or, y'know, a princess. I haven't decided yet!"
"Sorry, I'm afraid you might have to wait a while for the prince. I hear not many of them like 11 year olds”, Hawke laughed.
"Well, I don't plan to quit trying! And now that you're part of this, you gotta help me out! Be my wingman or something! Set me up with one of your cute friends! I mean, no matter how cute a guy is, he always has a best friend that's cuter. That's just one of the basic rules of life! And I'll have you know that I'm almost twelve! I'm practically an adult... A very short adult, but an adult nonetheless!"
“Riiiiiight…. That doesn't mean I'm introducing you to my friends, and I'll have you know that I'm the cute best friend."
"Remember the rules, Hawke - there's always a cuter friend! Wait... If there's always a cuter friend, does that mean the chain eventually ends with a physical god, or does it just keep going indefinitely? I just blew my own mind!", she chuckled, with Hawke joining her for a laugh.


"So, you excited for our meet and greet with the other new students tomorrow?", he asked.
"Yeah, totally! I mean, I might be a half-asleep zombie for most of it, but I think it'll be fun! And if we spot someone cute you gotta help me meet'em, okay? Like, we can do the old 'Damsel in Distress' act, where you play the role of a rude British youngster who harasses the cute blind girl, only to be chased away by the object of her affection!"
"Why do I have to look like an ass to get you what you want? I'm not doing that. I'll be chasing my OWN objects of affection, remember? You're on your own, kid"
"Are you serious? What happened to chivalry? Aren't you supposed to take one for your lady? And unless either of us finds something better, for all intents and purposes I'm your lady! Don't you dare deny that!",
The man grinned to himself and stifled a yawn.
"In all seriousness though, you know you can always come to me if there's a problem, right? If you're not handling it well tomorrow, I'll more than happily walk you back to you room."
"Thanks, Hawke. I appreciate it”, Ellie smiled. “As for me, I'll try not to get in your way too much. I mean, I'm probably gonna need some help getting there, but after that, I'll try to leech onto the nearest attractive person there and leave you to do... whatever it is you do at those things. I'll be counting on you to point me in the direction of the cutest guy, okay?"
"I'm looking forward to this year here. It will be good. I'm sure we'll be able to eventually find you a cute-looking boy to manipulate. Although, I'm not entirely sure that handling your love life comes under my job description as your student carer...."
"What are you talking about? Of course it does! I've got your back, you've got mine! Hey, if you need me to put out a good word for you with some girl, just let me know! One of the perks of being blind is that people really listen to what you're trying to say, so my word is gonna weigh more than anyone else's! Just trust me on that, okay? That's not the first time I've set people up!"

"Alright then, Hitch, I'll make sure I come to you! You don't think I can stand on my own merit though? Sounds like you think I need your help in order to attract someone. Which is, quite frankly, rather offensive to hear from an 11-year old." Hawke said, trying to sound as angry as possible. In reality, he was grinning to himself and trying to hold back his laughter.
"Well, let's face it, Hawkey, your looks and your accent are your only real assets, and I can only confirm one of those things!", Ellie laughed. "That might have been enough in England, but in Canada you need actual personality... Or a very, very good wingwoman!"
"You're very cold-hearted for an 11-year old." Hawke continued, "My good looks have worked for me so far! As for my personality? I'm God's gift to the world. I don't know how people could possibly resist my charm or wit. Or modesty."
"Well, it didn't seem to work really well on me! Or what, are you going to claim that you weren't even trying? Yeah, nice one, but I ain't buyin' it, mistah! And stop saying I'm 11! My birthday is, like, in a month! Don't forget about it, alright? I want a nice, big present! Like a huge, huggable teddy bear or something!" Ellie spoke before keeping quiet for a few seconds. "No, wait!"
"That's exactly what I'm saying Ellie, because, y'know, you're 11?", Hawke retorted. "I WAS gonna get you a book, but if you insist I'll make sure I get you a giant, pink bear"
"Nooooo! A book is great! I-I mean, what would I do with a teddy bear, anyway? And... And I don't even remember what pink is! So you just... Ugh. You're dumb, Hawke. You're officially not invited to my birthday party!"
"Wasn't gonna come anyway. I'm not one for children's parties. I'm too "dumb" to understand the games"

"Geez, do you really expect girls to like you when you tease them so much? That's, like, a total turn-off! Pro-tip, Mr. Smoothy Pants, but if you complimented girls every once in a while instead of teasing so much perhaps you wouldn't have to spend your nights watching porn!"
"It's worked so far" Hawke said nonchalantly. "And I'm not watching porn! Stop saying that, it's weird! YOU'RE 11! I'M FAILING AS A GUARDIAN!"
"No offense, but of all the guardians I've had, you're by far the worst one! I mean, you won't even hook me up with your cute friends! That's cruel and unusual and you know it! I'm reporting you to CPS!"
"Thanks for that, Ellie. Means a lot that my hard work is appreciated!" Hawke let out a sigh, then added, "I think CPS would have more of a problem with me hooking you up with people 5 years older than you."
"Not necessarily 5 years. I'd settle for one or two. What can I say, boys my age are just icky. They play with their boogers and talk about Pokemon and that kind of stuff. I want nothing to do with it! But after puberty they all get these sexy voices and start caring about girls and not about videogames... Well, most of them anyway. Okay, some of them. A few of them?"
"Nothing wrong with video games" Hawke replied cheerfully.
"You are unbelievable", Ellie sighed. "Of all the people I could get as my guardians at the academy, I had to be stuck with a British porn maniac with the personality of a brick wall who lectures me about my love life!", she stifled a chuckle.
“Things could be worse, Ellie! You could be tasked with looking after an egotistical 11 year old."
"Hmpf! I'll show you egoistical! One day I'm gonna be friends with the most beautiful girl in the school, and I'll laugh at you when you ask me to hook you up with her! Oooh, or even better, maybe I will become the most beautiful girl in the school! I mean, in a few years I'll get boobs and stuff, and then who knows! You're gonna want to take me out on a date or something, and I'll reject you faster than you can say friendzoned!"

"You're crazy, Elle", Hawke sighed. "By the time you grow boobs I'll be outta here. Besides, by that time you might decide that my voice is sexy enough and regret being so mean to me all the damn time"
"Yeah, like that would happen! And you gotta give me more credit - I'm almost twelve! That's when boobs start growing, right? Who knows, I might have a growth spurt and turn from a cute girl into a pretty lady before you graduate! You might even want to take me to the prom! I'd probably say yes, but only out of mercy... You know, cuz I'd feel bad about you not having a proper girlfriend!"
"Your faith in me in inspiring, Ellie..." Hawke grumbled, before becoming grouchy. "Was there anything else you needed? If my situation is as dire as you claim it is I'm gonna need some beauty sleep before tomorrow, just so I have the best chance possible to get a ‘proper girlfriend’ before prom. Two years just doesn't seem long enough"
"Beauty sleep can't fix what's wrong with ya, Hawke!", she chuckled. "But, um... Thanks. Seriously. You cheered me up, and I honestly can't remember the last time someone's done that. I just... Do you think it'd be okay if I call you like this again sometime? You know... If I'm having weird dreams again?"
"It's what I'm here for, Elle. Feel free to ring me up whenever - day or night. Don't worry about the dreams. Take them as a comfort."

"Yeah, guess you're right....”, she smiled. “Can you come pick me up for the meet and greet tomorrow morning? I guess I could find my way myself, but I have a feeling that bringing a cane to a place full of people might not be the best idea ever. And besides, I'd like to make a good first impression, and what better way than to be seen holding onto a handsome British delinquent?"
"You sure you want to turn up with a 'porn maniac with the personality of a brick wall'?", he laughed.
"That can be our little secret, Hawkey!"
"Sure thing, then. I'll come pick you up around 9.30 tomorrow morning, make sure you're awake! If you're not I will not hesitate in telling the new headteacher we're late because you phoned me at stupid o' clock"
"9.30, huh? That means you've got about 4 hours of sleep, while I have about two. We can do it! I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"
"Does it really take that long to do makeup? Well, it starts at 10. Anyway, how the hell do you do makeup when you're blind?!"
"Very, very carefully. Why do you think it takes so long?", Ellie giggled. "Anyway, I'm gonna try and get some more sleep. Thanks again for... Y'know, for this. I'll see ya tomorrow, Mr. Porn Maniac!"

And with that, the conversation ended. Ellie left the phone back on her nightstand, gently dropping it on top of her book before pulling her pillow back on the bed. After laying her head on top of it and gently pulling the covers onto herself, the little girl thought about what her friend had said. Were her dreams really some kind of memory? A locked vision of her first six months with her mother? Ellie wasn’t convinced. It just didn’t feel right… But then again, what about this did? One thing was for certain, though… It didn’t matter. None of it did. The little girl knew that she couldn’t afford to dwell on her dreams, be they memories or not. All she could do was look forward… And towards a brand new day.


KS: THE NEW GENERATION
20.01.2013 - 11.08.2015

MISSING PAGES
12.08.2015 - ???

Hey, guys! Raiden here! I just wanted to interject real quick and say thank you so very much for reading this, and thank you for supporting our community! When we conceived NewGen way back in 2012, it was mostly supposed to be a very private affair, just a better community for our Facebook friends. The fact that, two and a half years later, we’ve got over one hundred approved characters there is absolutely blowing my mind! Even if a lot of our roleplayers have multiple characters, that’s still a bus worth of people who liked our forum enough to join it. Sadly, all things must come to an end, but not every end has to be an ending. Here’s hoping that together we’ll be able to create an even stronger, more tightly-knit community than ever before! Cheers!

Hey, don’t hog all the spotlight! I’m here too! How could you forget poor old Mootking?! Oh, that’s right… You don’t know who I am. Well, you do. Kinda. I formerly went by Subverse, but with a new forum I decided I’d start fresh. It’s been a ride, I still remember the day I found KS:NewGen, scrolling through it thinking how awesome it sounded. Little did I know I’d be in charge of the place just over a year later! And now, over three years after I first created my profile, I’ve taken part in writing what is essentially a small novel. Let me tell you, each leg of the journey has been incredible! I’m sure our new forum will be much more of the same, and I can’t help but feel a growing sense of excitement as we finally release to you… Missing Pages!

http://www.missingpagesroleplay.com/

Oh, what’s that? You’re still not satisfied? You want a post-credits scene? Ugh, fine… Maybe a short one.

World POWERS

Wade Wilson sighed. He had it good in the Sentinels. Having pragmatic powers such as ‘hacking’ or ‘healing’ and being in the same school as physical gods who could move the Earth made people quite humble about themselves. Despite being trained to be the equivalent of a superhero black ops team, they were nice to each other. They didn’t feel like they had anything to prove to anyone, and the fact that they were specifically trained to work as a team and to complement each other made them feel even closer, like a family. Despite not having known his teammates for very long, Wade liked them, and they liked him. Everything changed when principal Hatsuhara approached him one day. “Disciplined, capable, a natural born leader. You’re a straight arrow if I’ve ever seen one, Wilson”, the young woman had told him. “I could use someone like you”

Wade had felt so flattered by the praise that he had accepted almost immediately. His job, unfortunately, involved leaving the Sentinels behind and joining the Centurions as one of their Overseers. The Centurions were the bad kids in town - the ones who had either dangerous and hard to control powers, like radiation or fire, or the ones that were deemed to be at risk of becoming a threat. Juvenile delinquents, in other words. While the Valiants had the great power and the Sentinels had the pragmatic teamwork and efficiency, the Centurions had both - but they could just as easily turn into villains as into heroes. “They lack discipline”, the principal had told him. “That’s why I need someone with your qualities to… Shall we say, bring a bit of order at home. I can see no better candidate for the job than you, Wilson”

Well, while Ms. Hatsuhara was never wrong, that didn’t mean Wade had to like it. The Centurions were exactly the uncivilized ruffians he had always taken them for. Wade was in charge of bringing order to the team and make them pay attention in class, but it was kind of hard to do when ten superpowered kids were having the time of their life. In the front row, a ten year old kid was playing on a handheld game, and the girl next to him, who didn’t seem that much older, was texting. Behind them, three guys were throwing paper balls at each other like they were in kindergarten, and furthest back, in the corner, two girls were discovering their sexuality a bit too intimately for a classroom. How was Wade supposed to work with this?!?

The young man stood up from his seat before slamming his fist onto the desk, causing the room to go quiet for a moment. He  knew that the silence would only be temporary, so he had to make the best of it. Had to choose his words carefully.
“What do you think you’re doing?”, he raised his voice. “Is that how you’re going to greet the teacher? Show some respect!”
A couple of the students let out an “Ooooh!”, followed by laughter.
“Respect? No one showed us respect when they put us here!”, one of the girls yelled.
“Yeah! We’re their pet projects, to see how quickly we’re gonna break bad. It’s like, there’s no point in trying”, another student chimed in.
“You really believe that? That the school has given up on you?”, Wade asked.
“Of course! We’re like prisoners here, man!”, a guy dressed in black in the middle row spoke as he leaned back in his chair. “Why do you think they’re having you here, Sentinel? You’re our watchdog!”

Several of the students cheered, making it quite obvious that this was exactly what everyone was thinking.
“What’s your name, Centurion?”, Wade asked, keeping his cool.
“Darkforce”, the boy responded immediately, to a round of laughter.
“Your real name”, the slightly older student demanded.
“It’s Bryan, man! Chill!”, the boy in black placed all four of the chair’s legs down on the ground.
“And why do you think you’re in the Centurions and not in the Valiants, Bryan?”
“Well, that’s a bit of a funny story”, he chuckled. “One day I decided to play hero and rushed straight into a burning building. I managed to rescue three people, but they turned out to be firefighters, so here I am!”
The class erupted in laughter, not because the joke was ridiculously funny, but because it symbolized resistance against authority, which was exactly what these kids were all about. The only one who wasn’t laughing was Wade.

“You think you’re a funny guy, huh?”
“Dude, I’m hilarious, come on!”, he laughed.
Wade sighed. He needed to get the kids, Bryan in particular, to take him seriously if he was to get their attention. His eyes wandered all over Darkforce, examining every little piece of his clothing. His black sweater and jeans looked good, but they appeared rather worn and had lost a bit of their coloration - probably hand-me-downs or bought used. His face, unlike Wade’s, had some unshaved hair on it. Considering how much care Bryan seemed to put into his appearance, it was more likely than not that he simply didn’t know how to shave, most likely because nobody had shown him how or even provided him with a proper razor. His backpack seemed rather thin, most likely containing only his books, perhaps a wrapped sandwich at best, but certainly no lunchbox. His shoes, barely visible underneath his desk, looked dirty and worn off, probably his only pair. It didn’t take a genius to connect the dots.
“I bet your parents really love you, Darkforce”, Wade spoke, not breaking his poker face. “I’m sure there was some reason why they left you, right?”

Bryan’s expression immediately changed. While Wade’s presumption was a bit of a gamble, it appeared to have paid off. The boy in black stood up, staring at his classmate like a lion about to engage in a territorial fight after another lion killed his cubs. The rest of his classmates looked among themselves. It seemed that Darkforce was trying to keep his lower-class status under wraps.
“What did you say to me, bitch?”, he yelled out, pushing his desk out of the way and stepping towards Wade.
“I said… Your parents probably had a reason why they left you all alone”
That did it. Bryan roared and raised his hand. Wade wasn’t even fazed. This kid might have had superpowers, but he was no hand to hand fighter - if this was a real brawl, Wade would’ve knocked him out seconds ago. As Bryan’s fist swung forward, the older student swiftly dodged it, using the opening to shift his position behind Darkforce. He grabbed the boy by the arm, pulling it back and twisting it around before slamming his head into Wade’s desk. The whole move took no more than a second, leaving the other children stunned, with some not even comprehending what had happened. Bryan immediately broke, moaning from the pain and desperately fighting to get free, although his attempts were quite pathetic considering the fact that every movement caused his twisted arm to hurt like hell.
“Don’t struggle so much, you’ll pull your arm out of your socket, and you’re not gonna like that”, he spoke. Taking his word for it, Bryan stopped.

“You are not here because they want you to fail. It’s the opposite”, Wade turned towards the class. “You’re here because they really want you to make it. You’re here because they see so much potential in you that they can’t afford for you to waste it. The Centurions were the commanders of the Roman army, and that’s exactly what’s expected of you. To lead. To take the responsibility no one else can. Sure, the Valiants will always get all the spotlight, and perhaps the Sentinels will always work better as a team… But you? You’re supposed to be the real heroes. I didn’t join your class to be a watchdog, and I’m not going to be one. I was asked to join in order to teach you what I learned in the Sentinels - how to make a good team, and how to work together. How to use your powers to compensate for each other’s weaknesses. Not just how to see, but how to really look. When to strike… And when to concede”

With that, Wade let Bryan’s arm go. The boy in black immediately pulled back, and while not everyone could see it, tears were welling up in his eyes. He quickly waddled back to his seat and pulled his chair back up before sitting down. A few moments later, Darkforce’s head and hands - the only exposed parts on him - disappeared into nothingness. His invisibility was probably an unconscious reaction caused by his embarrassment - emotions like that did tend to make some powers go a little crazy. Wade turned towards the clock - it was 9:15. The class was supposed to start at 9.
“I’m going to see where the teacher is”, he spoke. The young man thought about asking them to keep quiet, or to think about what he had said, but ultimately thought he didn’t need to. His point had been made. Upon closing the door behind him, Wade couldn’t help but let out a tiny chuckle.

“Heh. Firefighters, huh?”